Alexandre Aussant’s life has changed since his drag-queen alter ego, Mona de Grenoble, became known to the general public just a few years ago! Today, he is living a dream by taking his humor out of the village bars and presenting it on the stages of Quebec.
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Mona is currently presenting her first solo show — her “one-Mona-show,” she says — entitled Window dressing on tour. “It’s going very well. I’m living a real dream.” It’s Mona alone, without Alex, who puts on the show. “Alexandre is not there, but we are talking about it,” notes the comedian. The world accepts the convention that Mona is a 30 year old gentleman who is disguised as a lady in her sixties and that, in her guise, I talk about anecdotes that concern Alexandre, of lies that I told myself when I was young, of my coming out… And it’s not disturbing for the public.”
No more financial stress!
Last year, Mona won the third edition of Big Brother Celebrities. In the press release announcing his show, the artist is humorously described as being “solvent since Big Brother”! There is still some truth in this joke. “Cabaret life doesn’t pay. The general public knows three or four of drag, but there are hundreds and hundreds in Quebec who do it out of passion. When you start this job, you do it out of passion and you put yourself in the hole. You get into debt. The junk we wear is expensive!, he notes when talking about his stage outfits. So I owe a lot to Big Brother. The last year and a half that I lived, I didn’t take it out of my bag. This show gave me visibility.”
Since then, we have seen and heard Mona from Grenoble at Game Masterhas Good evening good evening!has 50 ways to kill your motherhas Veronica and the Fantastichas I come to you… “I really see the difference after Big Brother. I now have financial security which is a luxury in today’s world. I am very grateful! That being said, I am not yet at the point of owning a property. This is even more complicated than it was five years ago! So I’m still in an apartment, but I no longer have financial stress and I thank God for that every day!”
A friend who knows the world of drag
Alexandre has a lover, Philippe, who lives very well with the fact that he is a famous drag queen. “Phil and I knew each other before everything happened. We’ve been together for over four years. He knew me when I worked at the SAQ and did evening shows at Chez Mado. He has seen today’s Mona evolve quietly. We had time to adapt our lifestyle. I admit that in the last year, we said to ourselves that we should spend more time together. There was an adaptation at that level, but it was easy, he explains. Phil already knew the drag life; he was a little. It was an environment that interested him a lot, he was a fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race. When we met, he began to discover the drag scene in Quebec. It hasn’t been difficult for our life as a couple. In fact, we live it together hand in hand and we screw up a little. It’s very good!”
New dad
His family grew. On the day of the interview, he was having fun with his new baby dog that he adopted on October 6th. “I’ve been lying on the floor amusing him for half an hour,” he rejoiced. I heard from a friend of friends that a breeder had two litters of dogs with many females. And in fact, my boyfriend and I wanted a female. So, we have a little corgi dog.” He welcomes the arrival into his existence of this little being that he can cuddle between two shows. “We thought it would be a good idea to be woken up in the middle of the night by animals crying!”
On tour with her “one-Mona-show”, Window dressingMona de Grenoble will be at the Salle Albert-Rousseau in Quebec on November 18 and at the Olympia in Montreal on November 19 (for other dates: monadegrenoble.com). And Mona will host the Gala Artisans Québec Cinemaon December 4, at Grandé Studios in Montreal.
